Lockdown
by Crazy-Random
Summary: It was just a normal day in the normal life of Percy Jackson. That was, until something that changed his life. The Lockdown. AU
1. Chapter 1

"This is a lockdown, I repeat, teachers, this is a lockdown drill."

Percy groaned. These drills were the worst. You were crammed into small spaces for at least ten minutes with hot sweaty kids, not allowed to make a sound. Even worse were the ones like this one that were in between classes. You had one minute to get to a classroom. If you didn't you got ISS for a day, for "Endangering lives." Apparently, they thought that if something real happened, a gunman could convince a kid to trick a teacher into coming into their room and shooting everybody. Percy didn't like the rule, but he could see the truth in it.

All the same, Percy ran into the nearest classroom and crouched down. As he dropped to the ground, he ran into a girl, also ducking into the same abandoned classroom. She was quite pretty, from the little glimpse he got of her. Then she was closing and locking the door. A paper next to the window covered the glass, so no one could see if someone was in there. After a bunch of shootings in New York, where he lived, the school put window coverings and safety sheets in every class. If you got stuck in one during any type of drill, you could slide out the corresponding colour under the door. Green for safe, yellow for no teacher but still safe, and red for in trouble. The girl was currently sliding the yellow under the door. When she turned and saw him looking at her, she got an annoyed look on her face.

'Close the blinds dim-wit." She whispered, and Percy sprung into action. He turned to the back of the classroom and closed all of the previously open blinds. Then he looked for a space for them to "hide."

"Over here!" He called, gesturing with his hand. The pair climbed behind the teachers desk in the room, so they would have a medium of 'protection' should this ever happen. They settled down and waited for the all-clear signal.

They waited, and waited, and waited. After fifteen minutes had passed, he turned to the girl and gave her a look over,, finally. She had blonde, curly curls that went down to her bust, and was wearing a headband to keep stray hairs out of her face. She had a lean body, thin but muscular.

"Hey." he whispered. He knew that you are not supposed to talk during a drill, but he was never one for following the rules. "What's your name?" he asked her.

"Why are you talking?" She asks.

"Because I want to. Now what's your name?"

"Will you stop talking if I tell you?"

"Maybe. Probably. Probably not. Depends on how nice you are when you say you name."

She sighs. Then with forced cheerfulness and sweetness, she says, "My name is Annabeth."

Percy thinks. The name suits her. Beautiful, but something else to it.

After a few seconds he says, "I'm Percy." she just nods in response.

Momentarily, and announcement comes on over the speakers, "The drill is over, teachers, let students continue to class. Teachers-" Before the lady can finish her sentence, there is a scuffle over the microphone, a yell, a scream and then a rushed voice saying, "Lockdown, not a drill! I repeat, NOT a drill. Everyone return to your spots." Then it goes dead.

There is a split second, and then, pandemonium. Everyone scrambles back to where ever they were taking cover. Percy turned, tried to run back to the empty classroom, but there are too many people. Hands hit him. Binders fly, Feet run over his toes. Then, Annabeth is there, grabbing his hand yelling, "Percy, come on, we have to go."

Her voice, as patronizing as it was three minutes ago, snaps him out of his panic. They run like the devil, and within seconds are back in their haven. Annabeth slams the door shut, but not before checking that anyone is heading for their classroom, to seek refuge. After double-checking, she closes the door, locks it, and replaces the window covering, and the yellow sheet. Percy drags desks in front of the door as quickly and quietly as possible, and then dives behind the teacher's desk. Right behind him is Annabeth, a panicked and scared look on her face.

"Are you ok?" She whispers, genuine concern on her face.

"Aside from a few bruises, Ya, I think that I'm fine." He whispers back, just as quiet.

They sit back and wait, both scared out of their minds. Without realizing, they draw closer together until their sides are touching. If either noticed, they either didn't care, or kind of liked the comfort.

A half of an hour passed in that same silent, stoic manner. Then, boots clanging down the hall. Both of the teenagers could tell it wasn't a police officer, because the mystery man was shouting, "Hey kids, come out now. If you do, I promise we won't hurt you."

The man seemed to have forgotten that a teacher was in the room with all the kids. At least, in the majority of rooms.

Percy and Annabeth sat still, waiting, hoping the man would leave their hall.

That's when the kids found out that although the men forgot the teachers, the apparently knew the card system, because suddenly those heavy boots were outside their door. A man said, "Hey, Bruce, this ones got a yellow card. The Luke kid said that meant that there was no teacher in the room right?"

Another man, who must have been Bruce replied, "Ya, no teacher."

To the horror of Percy and Annabeth, a hand started rattling with the doorknob. The man, whether it be Bruce or Man 2 said softly, "Hey kids, we won't hurt you. We promise. We just need to talk with the principal of this place, and the only way we will be able to do that is if we have a little leverage."

Both of the teens stayed silent, but started inching towards the window. They had taken a piece of paper and scribbled on it throughout the real lockdown. They had agreed that if some one tried to get in, they would hide in the supply closet.

After a few terrifying moments of the men trying to get in, Annabeth and Percy moving as quietly as possible, they reached the closet. Being as careful as they could, they opened it up.

Upon opening it up, a feeling of dread settled in the kid's stomach. Apparently, the teacher who used this room liked to clutter up their closet so much, there wasn't room for a hamster.

Then, they heard a commotion outside. Apparently, Bruce and M2 had gotten fed up with being nice. Bruce yelled, "Ok kids, don't want to play nice? Well it's a good thing I have my lock gun with me."

Seconds later, a muffled shot, a clang, and the door was open.


	2. Chapter 2

Last time:

_Then, they heard a commotion outside. Apparently, Bruce and M2 had gotten fed up with being nice. Bruce yelled, "Ok kids, don't want to play nice? Well it's a good thing I have my lock gun with me."_

_Seconds later, a muffled shot, a clang, and the door was open._

* * *

Standing in the doorway was a man, tall and muscular. In front of himself, never wavering was a gun in his two hands.

"Now kids, because I am nice, I will give you _one_ last chance before I use physical force to take you." Percy vaguely recognized the voice as Bruce.

Then, the adrenaline kicked in and he pushed Annabeth behind a desk, ignoring the curious/scared/angry/confused look on her face. His mom had raised him to put ladies first, and that's what he would do even if it meant the end of him.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward and said, trying to keep his voice steady, "It's just me in here, no one else."

Bruce seemed relieved that he wouldn't have to try any harder to get the hostage he so obviously wanted. "Ok kid," he said, lowering his gun slightly, "Come over here slowly with your hands up. Now!"

Percy complied, and walked over to the man slowly. As he neared him, light from the hallway gave him a clearer picture of what the man looked like. He had light brown hair, cropped almost to the skull, in a mock marine cut. He had hard brown eyes, with glimmered with excitement at having Percy in his grasp. That sight almost made him sick. He had a slightly bulging nose, that was previously broken. His mouth was twisted in a cruel, wry smile that was no more heartwarming than the man's eyes.

"Now, kid, do you have a cell phone with you? Answer truthfully or I will shoot you." Bruce said, shaking the gun in a vaguely threatening manner.

"No" He answered truthfully. Percy did not want to take any chances and somehow get his foot blown off, which, know himself, he probably should. At this thought, he wriggled his toes to make sure that they were all there.

"Ok then, up against the wall." Bruce said, showing his gun to the Percy again.

Percy complied with the mans request, but as he did he couldn't resist saying, "You do know that the principal with not listen to you even with me as your hostage, right? In fact having _me_ as your hostage will probably make the principal even more reluctant to listen."

"And why is that kid?" Bruce replied as he pulled Percy's hands behind him and binding them with both rope and handcuffs.

"Because, I am the class clown. The principal would be glad to get rid of me. I've been suspended, what, three times this year?"

"I don't believe you kid. Now shut up, or I will bind, gag, and hurt you."

But Percy couldn't stop. He was scared, and on an adrenaline high, and he had ADHD. The drill had already caused him to miss his second dose of medicine today, and the creepy man had put him over the edge.

Continuing on with his nervous rambling, Percy said, "If you wanted someone worth kidnapping, it would probably be Julia Reynolds. She is the president of like, anything academic, and a total teachers pet. Too bad she isn't here today. If she were, I would totally bring her to you. Another person you could kidnap would be the football quarterback. Our principal, as you may know, is obsessed with football. But he isn't here either. You know, now that I think about it, those two have been ogling each other for like, the past month. I wonder if-"

Percy's vision went red, and his legs felt like lead. His back hurt like someone had run a bulldozer over it, and he could barely stand. Apparently, Bruce had had enough.

"I told you kid, if you didn't shut up, I would hurt you. Now turn around so I can gag you."

Scared even more now, Percy turned around. He tried to go as fast as possible, but his legs still weren't cooperating. A second later, Bruce helped him and finished his turn with a shove.

Then, a thick strip of cloth was shoved into his mouth, chocking him. Bruce tied it behind his had, then look over his worked. Percy was now bound, gagged, and _very_ scared.

Then, Bruce slapped him across the face. His check throbbed, and he was now holding on to conciseness by his fingertips.

Through the thin veil of conciseness still with him, he heard, "Now, I want you to go double check that there is no one in that room." Bruce told Man 2. Percy's heart dropped to his stomach. They were going to find Annabeth; there was no doubt about it. With that thought still on his mid, he let the blackness claim him.

* * *

Back in the classroom, a plethora of emotions was running through Annabeth's head. Why had the boy, Percy she recalled, hid her and let himself be taken? They barely knew each other, and now he was potentially saving her life?

When she had laid eyes on the boy, he had been standing like a dim wad. After his hasty work of the curtains, they had sat behind the teacher's desk. That was when she had finally gotten a good look at the boy.

The first thing she had noticed was his hair. It was slightly tousled, in a way that seemed like he was constantly running his hands through it. He had moderately tanned skin, and a lean, yet slightly muscular build. One thing that caught her eye when she was still looking over him was the gray streak running through his hair.

That was when he turned to look at her. His eyes were the first things she noticed. They were the colour of the sea. He had a slightly angular face, but in an appealing manner. His eyes twinkled with mirth that must have been always there.

All good thoughts about him flew out when he started talking during the drill. It irked Annabeth, who was a rule-follower. She could hardly believe he had the guts to that when every room had a video camera in it for surveillance.

She was relived when the all-clear signal rang out. She didn't think she could have spent another minute in the room with Percy. She gathered her stuff where it had been dropped and walked out the door towards her next class. That was until the scuffle over the announcements.

When the real lockdown was called, Annabeth fought the urge to panic. She knew that panic would not help her at all. Instead, she looked for Percy; knowing that he couldn't have gone far. After a handful of tense seconds, she located him.

He had gotten swept of in the crowd of panicked students, and was being pushed and shoved. She battled the crowd and made her was towards him. Grabbing his hand, she dragged him towards the room. After pulling him inside, she looked to see if anyone else was trying to get into their room. When no one was, she closed, locked, and covered the door. Sliding the yellow card under the door, she jumped out of Percy's way. He was shoving desks against the door.

Then, the pair had climbed back behind the teacher's desk. Once they were sat down, she turned her attention towards Percy. The panicked look that had previously inhabited his eyes had decreased somewhat. When she asked how he was, and he replied clearly, she knew he was ok.

That was how the next thirty minutes passed. It was still, eerily so. Without realizing it, she scooted ever closer to Percy, until their sides were touching. She didn't mind.

She was just calming down when boots came down the hall. The man in those boots was telling them to come out, that he wouldn't hurt her. Annabeth knew better, she knew it was only a ploy. He would hurt them anyway.

Her heart dropped when they couldn't hide in the closet. That's when Percy shoved her under the desk, bringing her back to the present. She had heard a cry of pain minutes earlier, and curled up tighter behind the desk, as if it would shield her from the occasional grunts of pain drifting through the door.

Then Bruce told the other man to search the room. Annabeth panicked. He was going to find her. She held her breath and prayed to anyone out there that she wouldn't be found.

The man stepped into the room.


	3. Chapter 3

Last time:

_Then Bruce told the other man to search the room. Annabeth panicked. He was going to find her. She held her breath and prayed to anyone out there that she wouldn't be found. _

_ The man stepped into the room._

* * *

"Hello? Anyone in here? I promise that if you come out peacefully, I promise that we won't hurt you, or your friend." The man sounded halfway sincere, which caught Annabeth off guard. She knew that she shouldn't believe the man, but he sounded like he meant it. Maybe if she…

"Stop thinking like that!" She thought-yelled at herself. She knew that it was merely a trick to lull her into a sense of security, and make it easier for her to turn herself in. But she wouldn't go willingly. She wouldn't!

"Ok, you had your chance. Now, if I were you, I would steel myself because now, you and your friend are in a world of trouble."

Before she could stop herself, Annabeth gasped. The man turned towards the corner where she was hiding.

"Ha, I have you." He walked towards her desk, and shoved it aside. "There you are, princess." He said mockingly. He grabbed her by her ponytail.

"Up we go. Come on, I bet you want to see your friend huh? Well let me warn you, if you just blabber nonsense like he did, there _will_ be consequences."

Annabeth nodded, trying to blink away they tears that were rapidly arising, along with her fear and anger.

The man, who was light-skinned and fair-haired, started dragging her down the hall towards the men's bathroom.

They were smarter than she and Percy first thought. These people whoever they were, obviously realized that if there was one place were the cameras wouldn't be watched, it was the bathrooms.

As they walked in, Annabeth steeled herself for whatever Percy condition Percy was in. She was glad she did. He was lying slumped on the floor, out cold. He was bound, and gagged. The worst part though, was his right cheek, which was bright red and bruising. He was groaning now, as if he were coming around.

As they walked in, Bruce called out, "Found someone Tristan? Who is this little lady?"

Knowing he wanted her name, but reluctant to give it, Annabeth said the first name that came into her mind. "My name is Kate sir." She added the sir in hopes of appeasing him, and make him less likely to hurt her or Percy.

"Well Kate, what is your friend's name?"

She lied again. "His name is Leroy sir."

"Ok Kate, why don't you stand against the wall, with your hands up." It wasn't a suggestion. She did as she was told, and stood with her back facing the wall.

Tristan came up behind her, and she felt her hands being pulled behind her, tied together, and handcuffed. Then he turned her back around and set her next to Percy. "Stay there and don't say a word. If you do, you will have a bruise to match Leroy's over there."

She nodded, to afraid to say a word. Then, beside her, Percy groaned again, loader, and slowly opened his eyes.

Bruce gave a sadistic grin and said, "Well, what do you know, you friend is awake!"

* * *

Percy groaned, and forced his eyes open. His vision was blurry, and his cheek throbbed. His back and legs hurt when more though. He doubted he would be able to walk.

Suddenly, A hand was grasping his face, forcing it up. His eyes met with Bruce, who was grinning sadistically at the pain that was expressed so clearly in Percy's eyes.

"Well, well, well. Look at who's awake. Did you enjoy your beauty nap Leroy? You see, while you were out, a few new developments happened. The least of which is that you friend, who you tried to hide, was found. Why did you hide her Leroy? I am going to have to punish you for that." With that, Bruce slapped the same cheek that had been abused only minutes before. Pain exploded across his face and Percy couldn't hold back his grunt and whimper of pain.

Bruce grinned and then turned to Annabeth. "You see Kate, that is what happen when you cross me. Let this be a lesson to you."

Through his pain, Percy picked up on something. Annabeth had obviously given them fake names, but why. He couldn't think very clearly right now.

"Ok, now that you are awake and alert, we have a Skype call to make to a certain place."

That was when Percy noticed the computer set up with a webcam. It was situated right in front of him. He wondered whom the men would be calling.

Bruce walked up to the computer, and started fiddling with it. As he did, M2 disappeared inside a bathroom to take a leak.

Taking advantage of the moment, Annabeth leaned over to him and whispered, "Are you ok?" He shook his head no. "Don't try to anger him. He seems like he has mood swings, so be extra careful." He nodded his head slightly.

"What ever you are telling him, it better not be an escape plan or anything of the sort." Bruce said as his rang someone. Moments later, Bruce's face disappeared from the screen and a man in a police uniform appeared.

"Who are you?" He asked the moment the connection finalized.

Bruce grinned and said, "Someone you should be very nice to, considering the hostages I have.  
"You are the one in Goode High School, aren't you?" The officer said, not as demanding as before.

"Yes, I am"

"Why are you inhabiting the school? I think you should know I have fifty officers surrounding the school at the moment. Choose your words carefully."

"I need to talk to the principal of this school, and, unfortunately, hid is the only way to do it."

"The principal has already told us he will not negotiate."

"Will he if I show you this?" Bruce said, and moved away from the camera, revealing Annabeth and Percy.

The officer's demeanor changed instantly. His expression became softer and he said to the pair of teens, "Hello you two, Are you ok?"

Annabeth turned to Bruce, silently asking permission to talk to the officer. Sensing what she was asking, Bruce nodded his permission.

"I am fine sir. My friend over here is not though. What is your name sir?"

"My name is Officer Blowfis, and I can tell that your friend is not doing good." Then Officer Blowfis turned his attention to Percy then. "Can you move son?" he asked.

Percy shrugged his head in a so-so manner.

"Ok, I have the information I need. Stay safe kids." He then said louder, "Can I talk to you again Bruce?"

Bruce stood up and walked to the camera. "Now you know that I mean business."

"I do Bruce. One thing though. Is there really any other need for the other people in that school? Why don't you let them go? We promise that we will not try to get inside the building while you let them out. It would be easier this way. Then you wouldn't have so many people to worry about."

Bruce stopped and considered for a minute. Then, with a suddenly cunning smile on his face he said, "you know what? I think I will do that to you, as a sign of good faith to you. I will let them out a hall at a time. They will have three minutes to get out, or they join my little group here. As for your promise, I will show you what I will do to the girl if you break it. But first, let me demonstrate on the boy."

He turned back to Percy and Annabeth and said, "Leroy? Come u here so that I can show the good officer something."

Percy's eyes widened. He wouldn't be able to stand, let alone walk to him. But he had to try. He shifted his weight forward, so he was kneeling towards the webcam. Even this little movement caused his tons of pain. But already, adrenaline was kicking in and making him forget his hurts. He shifted backwards so that his bound hands were touching the wall and his knees were in the air. Even as he did, the movement hurt less than before. He then used the wall as support and stood up.

Ignoring his screaming muscles, Percy walked slowly to Bruce and the computer. As he did, Officer Blowfis eyes widened slightly, as the damage to Percy's face became clearer.

Bruce grabbed the neck of his shirt and pulled him in line with Bruce. Then he wrapped his hands around Percy's neck and squeezed. *

Percy's airways closed instantly. He couldn't get breathe in. He struggled, but in his weakened state, it just used up more of his precious* life energy. Black dots appeared, his world grew smaller as blacker crept in the sides of his eyes. The gag wasn't helping matters. If was growing tighter and tighter. Percy was going to give in to the sweet arms of unconsciousness when-

Bruce let go of Percy. Percy collapsed on the ground next to Bruce's feet. He drew in a rasping breath around the gag. He was relived to be alive. Never again would he take air for granted.

"You have been warned." Bruce said, and stopped the call. He then turned his attention to Percy.

He grabbed Percy by the backside of his gag, and dragged him over to Annabeth. Her eyes were big and worried. She was scared that it would happen to her, he knew.

Bruce dumped Percy unceremoniously and grabbed the rifle he had just noticed that was sitting by the sinks. M2, who had come out of the toilet, grabbed the other one.

Bruce turned to his comrade and said, "Lets go do this. I don't want us vulnerable for long."

He turned his attention to the teenagers and said, "Don't try anything, or the consequences will be severe." On that note, He walked out of the bathroom, M2 at his side.

*1: thought about ending it here :)

*2: anyone else think of Gollum from LotR


	4. Chapter 4

Last time:

_Bruce turned to his comrade and said, "Lets go do this. I don't want us vulnerable for long."_

_ He turned his attention to the teenagers and said, "Don't try anything, or the consequences will be severe." On that note, He walked out of the bathroom, M2 at his side._

* * *

As soon as the two men left the bathroom, Annabeth turned to Percy and said, "Are you ok?" You were turning blue for a second there. Can you breathe alright?"

Percy nodded and gestured towards his gag. Bruce and M2 may have tied his hands behind his back, but they had tied Annabeth's in front of her by mistake. She got what he was saying, and crawled over to him. She sat up until her hands were level with his mouth. She reached forward and, with some difficulty, was able to pull his gag out of his mouth, but not down under his chin. It wasn't the best, but he could speak now, and it would look like it was still in all the way to Bruce and M2

His voice rasping, Percy said, "I'll be fine. But how are you? You looked really scared when they dragged you in here."

"I'm fine, no harm to me." The unspoken 'yet' weighted heavily on both of them.

With a sigh, Annabeth turned her eyes to Percy and said a plan that had been forming in her mind for the last few minutes. "Hey, do you know the janitor's entrance a couple of halls down from here."

"Yea, I use it to sneak in when I am late for school." Percy said. "Why?"

"What if I said that there might be a way to get us out of here using that door?"

"Wouldn't that be dangerous?" Percy asked her. "Those psychos are watching us 24/7."

"But they are not right now, are they?"

"No," he said slowly.

"Ok, then here's what we can do. I can try to contact officer Blowfis again and tell him to make a distraction by the front of the building, where there will be no people." Seeing his mouth opening and reading his mind she said, "The office ladies will have gotten out by now. They can just go through the emergency door in the bus heads office."

"I'm following Ya, go on," Percy said, shaking his head in contemplation.

"So then, while they are distracting the two men, we can sneak out of here." Annabeth finished happily, pleased with her plan.

"I like it, but there's two problems with that." Percy said with a frown. "Number one, I can barely walk five feet, let alone two hallways, and the stairs down the door. Number two, we don't know that Bruce and M2 are the only men here."

"Oh" Annabeth discouraged. But even as a new plan was forming, it was stopped before it could begin. Bruce and M2 walked back into the bathroom.

* * *

Bruce turned to the two and said, "Come on, now that everyone else is gone, we are moving."

Annabeth's heart fell, how would Percy walk to wherever they were going?

"Where are we going sir?" She asked, trying to be as respectable as possible.

It was all for nil. Bruce just turned his head towards her and said roughly, "You will see when we get there. Now stop dragging your butt and get up. Help Leroy over there, it looks like he is having trouble and I don't want anyone lagging behind." Annabeth nodded and stood up the way Percy had earlier. Then she turned towards him and helped him up.

She offered her side to him, and he leaned into her. Annabeth couldn't help but notice that he fit almost perfectly into her.

She shook her head to dispel the thought. 'Now isn't the time' she chastised to herself. Instead she focused on helping him limp down the hall.

They followed Bruce through the school. It was eerily silent. There were doors open and blinders scattered on the floor. Papers were lying crumpled in the hallway, and Annabeth could see a situation card like the one that had spelled their doom lying in the hallway.

Then, they arrived at the office. Percy's face was white from the effort of walking the school. Annabeth's arm was growing numb from supporting him. She didn't know if she could support him for much longer.

Bruce gestured for them to walk inside, and they did. As they walked inside, the first thing Annabeth spotted was they puddle of blood on the floor by the front desk. Was that from the lady on the speaker?

The second thing they noticed were the three men standing guard by the front door. 'Well, that answer the question on whether or not it was just Tristan and Bruce here.' she thought with a wry smile.

One of the men, who she decided to call Man, barked at her, "Why are you smiling princess? You have no reason to right now." Annabeth wisely kept quiet, even though she was halfway to telling him how his nose look liked a hawk had scratched at it, which would account for the deep scars running throughout it.

Bruce turned to the teens and said, "Well, Kate, Leroy, say hi to the rest of my gan- I mean team. The one to the left is Ulisse, the one in the center is Marquez, and the one on the right is Gabr. They are all from out-of-town, as you can see."

Annabeth could defiantly tell. Ulisse had a distinctive Italian look with tanned skin and light hair. The one called Marquez was defiantly Latin American. He had dark brown hair and slightly lighter tanned. Gabr looked similar to Marquez, but different. He was also wearing a turban, which gave him away as Arabic. 'What has our principal gotten into?' she wondered.

Ulisse pointed towards a corner, which fortunately had chairs, and said, "Sit there, don't get up, and don't speak."

Annabeth and Percy silently did as they were told. Annabeth helped Percy sit into a semi comfortable position, and then sat down next to him. Now that they had stopped moving, his face was regaining some colour, but not for long.

Tristan then trailed in, carrying the computer. He set it up on the front desk, facing towards Percy and herself.

"Think Alfred will want to talk to us now?" Marquez said inquisitively.

"No, but Officer Blowfis sure will." Tristan replied, and as he did, he Skype called the officer. There was a bing, and then the officer's face showed up on-screen.

"Ah, Officer Blowfis was it? I do not believe we have had the pleasure of talking. My name is Tristan."

"Nice to meet you Tristan. Now, seeing as we kept our part of the deal, can you show me the kids and prove you kept your part?" The officer asked this nervously, as if he was afraid of being turned down, or that they hadn't kept their side of the deal and hurt Annabeth.

Tristan nodded and turned the webcam so the officer could see them. Although the pair couldn't see the screen clearly, they could hear the audible sigh of relief he gave.

"Thank you."

Tristan didn't rely in kind, but in stead said, "Is little Alfred ready to talk yet? Or will he need a little more… encouragement? In fact, I have my friends to help me if I do need help." Tristan turned the camera towards the three lackeys. "I will give you first names only, but you will find out who they are so enough. There is Ulisse, Marquez, and Gabr."

"I have told you once, the principal will not negotiate. And do not hurt those kids. They have done nothing to you!"

"Oh on the contrary, they make me hunger for pain, to hurt someone. I haven't felt like that for a long time. So you see, they have done something." Bruce said, stepping in line of view of the camera.

"So Alfred won't talk, well then, I guess that me and my friends get to have some fun. And you can watch. In fact, you have to because if you don't how will you know how to negotiate their release with me?"

Officer Blowfis was silent.

"Ok then let's get started!" Bruce said, happiest he had been since the teens had first encountered them. He turned to them and beckoned for them to walk to the middle of the room, where everything, including the surveillance cameras could see them.

"I imagine that you have hacked the cameras in hops of learning our plans, so we disabled the sound, but not the picture. So now you can see this happen from every angle." The officer replied only with a stony glare.

As Annabeth and Percy reached the middle of the room, the men converged on them. They forced the kids down, and through a jungle of arms, Annabeth could see the webcam repositioned at and angle.

When the arms cleared, ropes were tying down the to armchairs which were bolted to the floor. Above her, the men grinned with sadistic smiles.

Bruce turned to them, gave them all a knife and said, "Lets the games begin." Then he turned to the webcam. "This is how this is going to go. Every five minutes, I will ask you if Alfred will agree o talk. Tell that to him, as he is probably just out f view of us. If he says no, we will inflict some sort of injury on them. I will alternate which one gets hurt. We will start with the girl. Now, doe Alfred agree to talk to us?"

Officer Blowfis looked off-screen for a second, turn back towards the webcam and said with a heavy sigh, "No."

Bruce nodded, turned towards Gabr and said, "You can start."

The man nodded and leaned down towards Annabeth's legs. He turned them slightly, so the back of her ankle was showing. Annabeth's heart grew heavy with suspicion. From biology class, she remember that was where the Achilles Tendon was located. She hoped he wasn't, but as he leaned down, she steeled herself.

Annabeth's world went up in flames. It hurt so badly! She couldn't feel her feet, she could barely see, and just barely could she hear someone screaming. It was herself, she realized.

Then, someone was sticking a needle in her, and the pain went away slightly. She still couldn't feel her feet, or any other part of her body, but she felt like she would live.

Bruce grinned and turned towards the camera. "Heard about the break in earlier today at that hospital pharmacy? That was us. We couldn't have our hostages not able to feel the pain, now could we? You have five minutes until the boy gets it. Think wisely." with that, Bruce muted the screen, and said to the teens, "I hope he says no."

* * *

Hey guys! I just want you to know that I normally don't update this frequently. The reason is, I have to do this program June 9-29, and we won't get lots of access to computers, so my updates may be sporadic. The good thing is, I have Sundays off, so I will try to write that week and post on Sundays. One last thing, a challenge: Can anyone tell me how I came up with Percy and Annabeth's fake names? Virtual cookies for everyone who finds out!


	5. Chapter 5

_Bruce grinned and turned towards the camera. "Heard about the break in earlier today at that hospital pharmacy? That was us. We couldn't have our hostages not able to feel the pain, now could we? You have five minutes until the boy gets it. Think wisely." with that, Bruce muted the screen, and said to the teens, "I hope he says no."_

* * *

2 hours ago

Sally Jackson was just cleaning up the kitchen after the late lunch she had with her husband, Pons. As she was closing the dishwasher, the phone rang. Answering it she said, "This is Sally Jackson."

A deep male voice answered, "Miss Jackson, are you sitting down?"

A feeling of panic entered her and she sat down at a kitchen chair. "Now I am. What happened?"

"Miss, are you aware that there was a lockdown at your son's school this morning? It was not a drill, four men entered the building with guns and shot one of the office secretaries before they called the lockdown."

"OH!" Sally's hand flew to her mouth and her eyes watered. "IS my son ok? Did they get they man out?"

"No, we were able to get the all the kids in the school released except for two. Your son and another girl are the only ones who are unaccounted for. We do have proof that they have taken two hostages, one of which we believe is your son. We would like to ask that you and your husband come down to the station to see if we can identify these two kids."

"Of course, let me get my husband, we will be down in fifteen minutes."

"Thank you ma'am. When you get there, tell them that your are there to see Officer Blowfis."

"Ok. Goodbye." Sally said and hung up the phone. As so as she did, the tears started falling. Her dear Percy! What was he doing? How was he doing? Was he hurt? Would he try to take any hurt for the other girl? Would he live? Would she get to see him again? Just this morning, he was sitting at this very table, eating blue pancakes.

This and a million other things ran through her head. With immense willpower she pushed the thoughts away. She knew that if she let them continue, she would be crippled and unable to help Percy. She slowly got up and walked to the bedroom, where Pons had just laid down for a nap. She opened the door and saw him lying peacefully in what she knew would be his last night of full sleep in a while.

She walked up to him and shook him gently. "Sal?" he said tiredly.

"Hey. We have to go down to the police station now."

Her desperation must have crept through her voice because he was immediately alert and asking what was wrong. Doing her best to hold back tears she told her husband of what she had been told on the phone. As soon as she had finished, he pulled into a huge hug before getting up and saying, "We have to go."

* * *

Within five minutes, they were at the station. Holding hands and carrying heavy hearts, the couple walked into the station. Pons took it from there. He walked up to the counter and said, "We are here to see Officer Blowfis."

The man looked at the pair with pity and said, "You are the parents of one of the hostages?" At their nods he said, "You should be proud, those are two tough as hell kids. They will make it out; I can feel it in my bones. You will go down the hall to the last door on the left. Good luck."

"Thank you," They said and walked down they hall to the dreaded room.

As they walked in the first thing they saw was a giant screen. The second was another pair of parents, equally, if not more distraught then them. The third was the police officer that was walking towards them. Pons told they lead and meet him. He held out his hand and said, "I am Poseidon Jackson, call me Pons, and this is my wife Sally. We are here because our son may be one of the hostages held at Goode High School."

"Of course, I am Officer Blowfis, if you could come this way." He gestured them over to a computer. "Now I am about to pull up photos taken from a video chat. These are the two hostages. Are you two prepared, they are a little graphic." The couple nodded. The officer pulled up a picture of two kids. One was of a teenage girl with curly blonde hair. The other was of Percy. His cheek was bright red and bruising, as if he had been slapped there multiple times. He his were what made Sally break down though. The normally bright and twinkling eyes that reminded her of Pons were dull and scared.

Pons nodded and said thickly, "That's him."

"OK, now what we are going have you do is go stand with Mr. and Mrs. Chase, the girls parents. We expect another video chat with the kidnappers soon, and you may be able to stay in. I know that it is against protocol, but you four deserve to know what's going on, as horrible as it is. We will be getting the principal in too; he is whom the kidnappers want to talk to.

The pair nodded and walked towards the other couple. As they walked to them the other pair turn towards them. The man held out his hand and said, "Hello. My name is Frederick Chase and this is my wife Helen. Call me Fred. The girl is our Daughter, Annabeth."

Pons replied in kind. "My name is Pons Jackson, and this my wife Sally. Our boy is Percy."

After introductions were made the four just kind of stood there. They really didn't know what to say to the other. After five minutes or so, Sally spook up and said, "What is Annabeth like?"

Fred said," She is wonderful. She is so smart, but very down to earth. She was actually not Helens daughter. I had an ex who broke up with me before she knew she was pregnant. Nine months later, Annabeth turned up on my doorstep."

"I love her as if she were my own though." Helen said. "She has two brothers and loves them. You would never tell that I have only known her since she was six. Just this morning we were making plans to-" Helen stopped as tears welled up. "Well I guess we will just have to postpone our plans won't we?" She wiped her tears up and said, "And how about Percy, what is he like?"

Sally smiled tightly and said, "He is amazing. He has the best personality, fun and charming, but he is very caring. He has always struggled with school. He has ADHD and dyslexia. He loves Goode though; he has spent the longest time ever in that school. After this though, if he makes it out" She stopped, her own eyes filling with tears as she realized what she had said. It hit her then that Percy might not be coming back, that she might never again be able to hold him close and kiss his forehead, she might never again run her hands through his wild yet impossibly soft hair. The tears spilled as she turned into Pons shoulder. As she did, she saw gentle tears running down his own face. A glance at Fred and Helen told her that they were in the same state.

Sally made a split second decision and walked over and put her arms around Helen. The woman returned the hug, and together they cried at the thought of losing their children. Then she felt Pons put his arms around them and felt Fred do the same. They sat together like that and cried for what seemed like hours before the tears ran dry. They separated and took a seat next to each other. Helen looked at her and said, "They will make it out. I just know." Sally nodded in agreement.

"I hope that they get along through this, that they have each other to lean on. And when we get out of this, I want to stay in contact. There is a bond that has connected our families together, forever." Helen nodded.

Then, another man walked in. He had on a tweed jacket, and jeans. He had balding hair and stress lines. He walked up to Officer Blowfis and said, "Hello, I am Alfred, principal of Goode. You are?" Officer Blowfis introduced himself. After a short conversation, he walked over to here the two couples were sitting. He shook the hand of each, and everyone introduced himself or herself.

"I am terribly sorry about this, your children should have never been caught up in this." Sally started to say something but then, Officer Blowfis walked up.

"At the moment, the kidnappers are requesting a video chat. We are going to ask that you stay where you are, and make as little sound as possible. Everyone nodded, and the officer walked away.

Within moments, a mans face appeared. He seemed the very personification of evil to Sally at that moment. After a couple of minutes chitchat, The man moved to reveal Percy and Annabeth. They seemed okay, except that now, Percy had bruising around his neck. Then, they were shown more men. After Officer Blowfis begged them to let Percy and Annabeth go, another man started talking about how they made him want to hurt them. He stepped onto the screen and Sally's stomach churned at the sight of him. Then he spook of a deal, and Sally's heart lifted as a spark of hope was ignited. Surely Alfred would say yes and speak with them.

It was put out when he shook his head in the negative, Sally looked away. She would not be able to watch poor Annabeth get hurt. She saw the Fred did not look away, but was instead staring intensely, as if he had to watch his daughter, as if he could protect her just by looking at her. Helen had her head buried in his shoulder. Then, Sally heard a scream that would haunt her for the rest of her life. After a minute or two, the screaming stopped as Sally recognized the sound of a needle entering skin and the sigh from Annabeth as what seem like morphine entered her system. A sentence or two from the man confirmed this. Then, there sound was cut off.


	6. Chapter 6

**I DONT OWN PJO! THIS GOES FOR THE ENTIRE STORY!**

* * *

_Then, Sally heard a scream that would haunt her for the rest of her life. After a minute or two, the screaming stopped as Sally recognized the sound of a needle entering skin and the sigh from Annabeth as what seem like morphine entered her system. A sentence or two from the man confirmed this. Then, there sound was cut knew that the sound of Annabeth screaming would haunt him for the rest of his life. She screamed liked she was on fire, and Percy wouldn't be surprised if she thought she were. She only quieted when Bruce injected her with something- morphine, he presumed. After that, she sat, eyes closed, on the brink of unconsciousness._

* * *

Percy hoped that the principal would agree to talk. He didn't think he could stand what Annabeth went through, let alone anything near what they did to her. He was already very weak, the edges of his vision slightly blurry. He felt like any more abuse to his body would kill him, and with the way these men were acting, it could very well be an accurate statement.

He thought about his life, what he had done. He had had a pretty easy life, though not without some difficulties. His father, Pons had left them when he was only three, and hadn't come back until he was nine. Over frequent correspondence they had had over those years, Pons told them that he had become an alcoholic when Percy was one, and had left for rehab and to get his life back in order. Once he had got a job at a marine research company, he began sending them money every month, which took off the burden his mom had been feeling to provide them with a decent life.

He had seen his dad once in those years, when he had been on a business trip to New York and had stopped by. When he was finally transferred to New York, Pons moved back in with them. There he told them the reason he didn't come back sooner was that he was afraid that getting back into a normal routine would have him interacting with his friends, and therefore, copious amounts of temptation and alcohol. He told them he needed to totally ready to walk past numerous party stores every day, and that living in southern Pennsylvania, where there is not a lot of alcohol helped him get off it. S of now, his father had be sober for 12 years, something they celebrated every year on the first day his father was sober.

Contrary to what most people thought, he didn't hold a grudge for his father because of what he did. On the other hand, he was very proud. He didn't think that many other men would have the courage to leave their families in order to be a better father. Hid mother had once told a friend that it was a sign of true love.

He also had struggled with ADHD and dyslexia throughout his life. He had been kicked out five schools when he was younger until they realized he had ADHD. He had to have a tutor until he was thirteen to help him read and write homework. After that, he was able to learn techniques that helped him see the letters.

Other than that, he had had a good life, one full of laughter and smiles. Percy didn't want to lose that. He was determined to survive, despite how bleak the odds may be.

Apparently this train of thought Percy had been having had lasted the five minutes break because then Bruce came back into his view and unmated the computer. He smirked and said to Officer Blowfis who was now standing back in view of the webcam, "Has Alfred made his decision?"

Taking a deep breath, Officer Blowfis said with a grim look on his face, "Yes, he has."

"Well, what is it? I am not a patient man!" Bruce replied angrily

"He has decided that he will talk to you, on the condition you release the children into police custody during the talks."

Bruce's face adopted a pensive look for a couple of moments. Percy allowed a sliver of hope to enter. They may be getting out alive! But then Percy reminded himself about whom they were being held by. Bruce obviously wouldn't agree to that.

As if reading his mind, Bruce finally spoke up. "I don't know if that is a fair trade. How do I know that you will still talk to me after you have the kids?"

Suddenly, the principal burst into the view to the camera and said, "You have my word Bruce, that I will keep talking to you. I just want those kids out of there."

Bruce gave another minutes thought before saying with a sly grin on his face, "Well, I do want to talk to you, so we can do one thing. How about I release little miss Kate right now?"

"Why just her?" Officer Blowfis asked.

"Because," Bruce said, "I need some insurance that Alfred will continue to talk to me even after we release one of these kids. As for why I picked the girl, well, she does have a serious injury and I assume that is whom the parents would pick if they got to choose. Now, take it or leave it." Bruce finished with a huge I-rune-this-show-and-you-know-it grin on his face.

Percy's heart raced. He would be left? They would rather leave him with the kidnappers that had probably killed someone in their time, than Annabeth? It was probably because of the injury she had just sustained, Percy knew, but he couldn't help but freak out. With a tremendous amount of will, he pushed the thoughts down and focused on the present. He turned his attention back to the screen and Bruce.

Officer Blowfis came back on the screen with an even more grim expression than before. He turned his gaze towards Percy. He gave him a sorrow filled expression and mouthed 'sorry kid' before turning to Bruce and saying, "We will do it." Before Bruce could reply though, Officer Blowfis continued talking, "We will send someone to the door of the school to wait. You will pick one man to take Kate to the entrance, where you will set her down and walk ten paces away. You will then let us go in and take Kate and walk out. That is how we are going to do things."

Bruce nodded. "It's a deal then. Have someone there in two minutes."

That's not necessary. Someone is already there. "Officer Blowfis replied.

Bruce nodded. "Well then, lets us do this." He turned to his comrades. "Gabr here will take Kate to the entrance."

Even as he talked, Gabr untied Annabeth and picked her up, cradling her in his arms. He gave a nod towards the screen and walked out.

Bruce watched him walk out then said to Tristan and Ulisse, "Get the boy over here in a chair. Now!" The two scrambled up and one ran over to Percy and started untying his bonds while the other got even more rope and a chair right next to Bruce. The first man, Tristan grabbed him roughly and dragged him over to the chair where Ulisse tied him to the chair, but left his arms free for some reason. Just then, Gabr came back into the room, without Annabeth. Percy's heart lighted at the thought of her safe.

Bruce turned his attention back to the computer screen where Alfred and Officer Blowfis were standing. "Now Alfred, let's get started. First, we are going to send a few ground rules."

Bruce turned towards Percy. "Leroy, what is your dominant hand?" Knowing what might happen, Percy lied and said, "My left."

Bruce looked up at Ulisse, Tie down his left, but put his right on the table." Percy swore mentally that he caught the lie. The he look at the screen. "Every time I ask a question, you are going to answer truthfully. If I think you aren't I am going to crush one of the fingers on this boys dominant hand, then his hand itself. If you still lie, we will do the same to his left. Got it?" Alfred gulped and nodded. Percy resisted the urge to gulp right along with him.

Bruce nodded and mockingly pulled out a sheet of paper with a list of questions written on it. "Ok, first question. Where did you put the money?"

Alfred paled and after a moment's hesitation said, "I-in the pl-pl-plane."

Bruce gave a grin and said, "Are you sure about that?" Alfred nodded. "I don't think so. You see, Marquez here was on the plane at the time and there was never any money."

Percy paled. Why did he have to lie? Did he purposely want to cause Percy pain?

Bruce turned to Tristan who had produced a small hammer from god knows where. "Start with the pointer." He said. Then, the hammer cam down on his finger not one, not two, but three times. Percy tried his hardest, but against his will, a small whimper, then another escaped his mouth. Accompanying that were a few tears, but other than that Percy kept his pain to himself.

Without missing a beat, Bruce said, "Second question! Where did you put the codes?"

Again, Alfred hesitated before saying, "I gav-gave them to Filipe. He said that he gave them to you."

"Them why did he never come to me speaking about such codes. You still have them on you don't you? Think you can bring us to a halt in we don't have access to one of our warehouses. Newsflash, it didn't stop us." Then he turned to Tristan and beckoned for him to crush Percy's second finger.

Tristan complied. Again he brought the hammer down three times, and again Percy tried to hold back his whimpers of pain. Only unlike last time, this time, he couldn't keep any of them in. He cried out in pain.

Through a haze of pain, Percy noticed shadows moving behind him. What were they?

Then, People in SWAT and police uniforms flooded the room. Shouts of "hands up!" and, "Put the gun down!" Filled his ears. Then, one of the officers was coming over to him and untying him. When the person finished, they picked him up and started towards

the exit, away from where officers where now tying up the five men.

He carried Percy outside; whispering reassurances that 'It was over' and 'He was safe' filled his ears. But Percy couldn't hear him. All he could think was that it hurt! Now that he was out of the grasp of Bruce, Percy let himself go. The pain was bursting inside him, and he let it. He floated in it, losing himself. Everything faded from view. He felt his breath quicken and his skin go cold.

After a while, He could hear cries of, "He's in shock! Get an IV and get him to the hospital." Then, he was on a bed, and a needle was going into his skin. He heard someone say something, but before he could figure out what, his world went black.

* * *

Sorry if the ending felt rushed, but I didn't know any other way to do it. I was really unsure about this chapter, some please feel free to provide feedback, both good and bad. If anyone from the Charlotte, NC area is reading this, IO hope that you are safe from the flooding. My house is out-of-the-way but if yours isn't, stay safe.


	7. Chapter 7

_After a while, He could hear cries of, "He's in shock!" Get an IV and get him to the hospital. Then, he was on a bed, and a needle was going into his skin. He heard someone say something, but before he could figure out what, his world went black."_

* * *

Annabeth was lost in the pain. Though the medication had dulled the pain, the adrenaline rushing through her was slowly receding, why she didn't know, but it was making the effects of the medicine less affective. She was slowly losing her self in the pain. She could vaguely hear Bruce talking to the officer, but she couldn't disconcert what. This went on for some time, by her reckoning, but she assumed her sense of time was messed up.

Then, someone was untying her, and picking her up. She didn't know what was going on, but every time the person carrying her move, bolts of pain ran through her. She was carried for a minute, and then was set down. She heard the man walking away. Another pair of footsteps made its way near her. The person kneeled down, and picked her p again. They carried her for a second, and then, she heard a door opening.

Fresh air filled her senses. She heard cars, and sirens. She heard chatter. She smelt smoke and car exhaust, and realized that she was outside! She was free! The person carrying her must be a police officer of some sort.

But then, another more terrible entered her mind. Why had there been only one step of footsteps both times she had been picked up. Where was Percy? Why wasn't there another set of footsteps?

"Percy" She groaned. With a struggle, she was able to slightly open her eyes, just enough to see blurry figures. "Percy, where are you?" She said again, panic rising in her stomach. "Where's Percy?" She said, becoming more alert by the second. "What happened to Percy?" She asked, on the verge of a full-scale panic attack now.

Then, the person was setting her down on a bed, and someone was sticking something in her. The blackness that had been at the edges of her awareness was growing bigger now, and more inviting. She tried to avoid, she had to say awake and find Percy, she had too! But she couldn't, the darkness was pulling her farther and farther down, until she could no longer resist, and lost the battle.

Various beeping sounds were the first thing Annabeth was aware. Some were slow and high-pitched, while others were fast and low. Then, the sharp smell of antiseptic and cleaning supplies. It was smell she hated, because it was like the fingerprint of a hospital.

That's where she was, she realized! She could now feel the bracelet on her wrist that must list her information, and small braces on her feet. As she started to wake up more, she tried to open her eyes. They felt like lead weights, but she kept trying.

Then, someone was beside her, talking to her. "Annabeth? Honey, are you awake, can you open your eyes?"

It was Helen, she realized. With newfound strength, she tried again, and was able to open her eyes. There was a blinding whiteness, before Helen yelled at someone to turn off the lights, and close the curtains. The whiteness went away, and Annabeth was able to push her eyes open all the way.

The first thing she saw was Helen staring down at her with concern written on her face. Standing next to her was her Dad, worry in his eyes. Helen smiled gently and said, "Hey, how are you feeling?"

Annabeth took inventory of all of her pains and aches. "Like an airplane fell on me." She told Helen, who smiled.

"Well let me go get the nurse." She told Annabeth, and then left the room.

Her father walked up to her head, and laid a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I was so worried about you." He said, as he sat down in a chair, and started running his fingers through her hair. It was a familiar motion that soothed her. "I didn't know if I was ever going to see you again. I was never so happy in my life as when you just woke up." He told her, a loving smile on his face.

Annabeth managed a small smile and said back, "I love you Dad." He just planted another kiss on her forehead.

At that moment, a nurse came into the room, carrying a clipboard. "Hello Ms. Chase, nice to see you awake. Now, I'm just going to check a few things." She walked over to her feet and pushed a pen into the sensitive part of her foot. "Can you feel this?" The nurse asked. Annabeth nodded. The nurse then repeated the process for the other foot. Annabeth felt the pressure on that foot too.

"Ok, well, it looks like the nerves in your feet weren't hurt to bad by the cut. Now, the way were going to deal with this is a little different from a normal tendon rupture. Normally, we would take you into surgery to sew the tendon back together, then start you walking only a few days after the surgery. But since you tendon was cut deliberately, and muscle was cut too, we are going to keep you in a wheelchair for a few days after the surgery. Then, we will put you on crutches and start physical therapy. If all goes well, you should be back to normal in about 8 months."

Annabeth took a second to take in all the information before saying, "Will I be able to play sports for fun?"

The nurse said, "You might have soreness, but if all goes well, yes you should be able to play all sports."

Annabeth nodded and said, "When are you guys going to do the surgery?"

"We discussed it with your parents and decided we are going to wait a day or two, so the swelling goes down. Until then, your feet will stay in the braces so that nothing more can happen to them." The nurse told her.

Annabeth nodded. The nurse performed a few more tests then left. Annabeth turned to her dad and said, "What about Percy? When you guys carried me out of the school, Percy wasn't with me. Where is he?"

"Well, we had to get you guys out at separate times, you first." At the look of worry on his daughters face, Fredrick continued, "But we got him out about fifteen minutes later He is in a room down the hall."

Before her dad could stop her she said, "Can I see him?" She had to him. They had gone through this together, but Percy had suffered the brunt of the abuse. Was he okay? She had to know.

"Let me ask the nurse. But I am not making any promises." Her father left the room and returned a couple of minutes later, a nurse following behind him. The nurse was pushing a wheelchair. With her fathers help, the nurse pulled Annabeth into the wheelchair.

"Now, you can't move you legs okay." The nurse told her before grabbing the IV pole and wheeling them out of the room. Turning right down the hall, they walked a ways before stopping in front of a room.

"Are you ready? Your friend doesn't look the best." The nurse asked her. Annabeth just nodded, steeling herself. The nurse turned the knob, before wheeling her into the room, along with the IV pole. She pushed Annabeth next to the bed in the room, talked briefly to somebody, before leaving. Annabeth barely noticed though, she was too busy gazing down at Percy. His cheek had swelled up, leaving the left side of his face a myriad of colours. As she looked down, his neck was just as bad, if not worse, than his cheek. When she looked at the hand by her lap, she saw that it was totally encased in a cast. Then, she looked up and saw a woman approaching her. She had straight brown hair, and sparkling blue eyes. This was Percy's mother, Annabeth realized.

"Hi Annabeth, I am Sally, Percy's mother." She said this with a small smile on her face, and a welcoming look in her eyes.

"Nice to meet you. How is Percy?" Annabeth said, but was unexpectedly swept into a hug.

"Thank you for helping my son." Sally said, holding her tight. "He told me that you stopped him from doing anything stupid, and you were able to keep them calm. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't been there."

Annabeth nodded, and hugged the woman back. Before she pulled away, Annabeth noted that the woman smelled faintly of chocolate. Then Sally told her, "Percy's doing ok. His hand that was broken was his dominant hand, so they will have to teach him to write with his other hand because his hand will be in the cast for a couple of months. He can't walk right now either though."

"Why?" Annabeth asked, confused.

"When that man hit Percy in the back, he hit him with a blunt object and hit a nerve and vertebrae, hard. Percy can't walk or feel his legs. They don't know when the feeling will come back, it could be anywhere from days, to months.

Suddenly, another voice chimed in weakly, "Sucks for me, doesn't it?"

"Percy!" Annabeth yelled, and turned to hug him gently. He chuckled weakly and hugged back with his good hand.

"How are you?" He asked once she let go of him.

"I'm wheelchair bound too, and hurting. You?" Annabeth said, gesturing down to her brace bound feet.

"Well aside from what my mom told you, I felt like a semi truck ran over me. Repeatedly." Percy said with a slight chuckle, then a groan. His voice was slightly horse, and cracked every few words.

The pair continued talking for a while, just talking about nonsense things. Annabeth learned that Percy's favorite colour was blue; he loves horses, and hated math. She in turned told him that her favorite colour was orange, she was practically obsessed with owls, and that she loved math. They kept talking like this until Sally told them it was time for Annabeth to go back to her room. Annabeth fell asleep that night with a smile on her face

* * *

**OK, so, I had a really hard time writing this chapter, so I would really like some feedback. And, though I did research for Annabeth's injury, I kind of made up Percy's, so please don't review talking about how inaccurate I am, I know that I will be. On another note, I am looking for a beta. If anyone would like to beta this, please PM me.**

**R &R**


	8. Chapter 8

_The pair continued talking for a while, just talking about nonsense things. Annabeth learned that Percy's favorite colour was blue; he loves horses, and hated math. She in turned told him that her favorite colour was orange, she was practically obsessed with owls, and that she loved math. They kept talking like this until Sally told them it was time for Annabeth to go back to her room. Annabeth fell asleep that night with a smile on her face_

* * *

The next day passed in a similar manner, with Percy and Annabeth and spending the whole day. When Annabeth had been wheeled in the next day, Percy had been in his own wheelchair. They had spent the day fooling around, racing their wheelchairs down the hall, and playing with the little kids in the Pediatric wing.

When they had wheeled back to Annabeth's room before bed, they found out that Annabeth would have her surgery the next morning. Then, Percy took a leather necklace that Annabeth hadn't noticed before from around his neck. On it, were beads, and in the center, a sand dollar. He had given it to her to wear during the surgery for 'good luck'. Annabeth made sure to wear it. And when they put her under before wheeling her into the operating room, her last thought was of Percy.

* * *

One week later:

Annabeth and Percy were wheeled down to the PT room together. Over the past week, they had been inseparable, except for Annabeth's surgery. Percy had even been there when she woke up. Over the week, the doctors had slowly decreased the size if her braces, until it was just a small discrete brace. She would continue to wear this brace for a couple of months to come, to ensure that her foot would heal right. Once she was out of the brace she would wrap it for a couple of months more, until it was totally healed. Today was her first day of PT. They told her that she would start using crutches today.

As she and Percy wheeled down the hall, they chatted about what they might be doing in the future.

"Do you think we will be able to go back to school?" Annabeth asked Percy.

"I dunno, I mean, winter break is in a few weeks, so maybe after then?" He said, shrugging. "Why would you even want to go back to school anyway."  
"Why not? I mean, it would be to much of a bother to repeat the year, and it would be really hard to miss the rest of it and do next year."

"Eh, any of these three options sounds kind of horrible to me. I mean, on top of having to learn to write with my left hand, I have dyslexia. Try learning like that." Percy said.

"Ya, I forgot about that. Anyway, aren't you excited for our outing later?" Annabeth said, getting excited at the thought of leaving the hospital.

"Do you love school?" Percy said, laughing. "I can't wait. What do you think we will do?"

"I want to get ice cream. I mean, all the food here is cold and rubbery." As Annabeth said that, they wheeled up to the door that had Physical Therapy written on it in gold lettering.

"Well, here we are. Ready for your first day of PT?" Percy had, a small grin on his face.

"You know it is your first day to, right?" Annabeth said, her own grin on her face. Percy would have to have someone who would do exercises with his legs so that they didn't atrophy before he regained the ability to walk. He also had another person who would help him start to write with his left hand.

"Details," Percy said, waving it off and pushing open the door. As they wheeled in, they took in the rom. It was much bigger than it looked like from the outside. It was about half the size of the gymnasium at school, with a small table at the back. The whole floor was padded and seemed quite soft. There was various exercise equipment and weird machines thought out the room.

Sitting at the table was a man who looked up at them when they entered the room. "Hello, you must be Annabeth and Percy. I am Mark*, your instructor." Mark had thinning brown hair and brown eyes. His eyebrows were scruffy, and so was the small beard on his chin. He was middle-aged, but seemed to be in good shape. His face had a structure that reminded Annabeth of a horse.

"HI." Annabeth said, extended her hand to shake. Percy followed her lead, holding out his good hand to shake.

"All right, we will start will you Annabeth, then do your exercises Percy." They nodded and Percy wheeled over to the side of the room, and parked his chair.

The first thing Mark taught Annabeth was how to walk with the crutches, it was kind of difficult because she could only stand on one foot for a few seconds before collapsing. Then, Mark lifted her out of the wheeled, and help her stand on the crutches. They were specially designed, with little ledges where she could rest her feet while standing still, like on stilts. They made her kind of sit down on the crutches, and got the weight mostly off her feet. Slowly, they started to have Annabeth walk small distances, and then stop and put her feet on the ledge. By the end of an hour, she was able to get around relatively well, but need breaks every couple of minutes or so.

Then, mark put her in the wheelchair so her legs were not put in to much strain. He told her that she would have to try and use the crutches as much as possible when she was in the hospital, but she could stay in the wheelchair during her outing. Then, she wheeled over to Percy who congratulated her and wheeled himself over for his own exercises. Mark moved his feet trough various exercises, stretching and working Percy's leg. Each leg took a half hour, and by the end, even though Percy couldn't feel it, he was sweating.

As they wheeled out, they each got more and more excited for their outing, so much that they didn't gripe as they usually did when they had to go to their separate rooms.

When she wheeled into her room, she saw the clothes that Helen had laid out for her to wear. They were lose, and comfy, but still were ok to where in public. Then she saw Helen sitting in one of the chairs beside her bed, reading a sappy romance novel.

'Why do you read those things?" She asked Helen, as she wheeled up to her bed. "They have horrible writing, no plot, and might as well be fantasies, for as accurate as they are."

"So, that's the fun in reading them." Helen said with a smile. 'Ready to get dressed?" Annabeth nodded and they slowly were able to get Annabeth dressed. Then, Helen took over and wheeled Annabeth out to the nurse's station, where they check her out for a while. In the lobby, Sally and Percy were waiting for the pair. Instead of the sweats Annabeth had got used to seeing Percy in, he was wearing jeans and a long sleeve shirt, with his necklace around his neck.

"Ready to go?" Sally said, and Helen and Annabeth nodded." First though, we have to have a talk." Percy and Annabeth turned to each other, and gave each other glances, each wondering what they needed to talk about.

"We haven't been letting you guys watch TV for a reason. The lockdown was al over the news for the last week, and so have you guys been. When we leave, we will be taking the main entrance, but there will be reporters there. When we get out of the hospital, and into their crowd, you guys don't have to say anything g. To make sure that the reporters don't follow us, we will have two bodyguards provided by the police. Do you guys got it?"

Annabeth let the information absorb for a second before nodding. Percy took a second longer, than also nodded. With that, Sally and Helen took hold of Percy and Annabeth's wheelchair and wheeled them side-by-side out of the hospital.

As they reached the entrance, Annabeth turned over and looked at Percy, who did the same. They shared a look that asked, "Are you ready?" In response, Percy reached over and grabbed Annabeth's hand. He squeezed it, and Annabeth squeezed back. When he when to pull away, Annabeth squeezed again and wouldn't let him let go. He nodded, and they exited the hospital.

For the first second, they were fine, no one around them. Then, there were people everywhere! Hands were shoving microphones in her face, people asking questions that all ran together. People were pressing against her, it was to close! Right as she started to panic, She felt Percy's hand squeezing her own, trying to reassure her. She squeezed back, and suddenly, it didn't seem so scary. She held her head high, and looked forward as she was pushed out of the parking drive, not giving any of the reporters her attention. The, there were two men pushing the reporters away, telling them they had to leave Percy and Annabeth alone. A couple more seconds and they were free.

"Are you two alright?" Helen asked,, as soon as they were free from the paparazzi.

"I think so." Percy said, and Annabeth nodded, agreeing with him.

"Ok then, where do you want to go?" Sally said, a smile on her face.

Annabeth and Percy turned to each other, ad with a silent agreement, said at the same time, "Pizza and ice cream." The moms laughed, and pushed the pair to the closest Brooklyn Pizza place.

Hours later, Annabeth was settling into bed, reminiscing on her day out. They had had so much fun out. It was the first time Percy and Annabeth had had junk food, and they had each had huge mounts of both pizza and ice cream. Then, they had spent their last hour at an arcade, battling it out on old-fashioned arcade machines. Annabeth never knew how good her step-mom was at Battlestar Galactica.

She wondered what they news had about them that night. Annabeth had no doubt that there would be a piece run on them, the two innocent teenagers injured in a lockdown turned kidnapping. Ad as scary as it had been, Annabeth knew she would be willing to brave the reporters in order to have one of these days again.

* * *

**OK, you guys blew me away with some of your reviews. Telling me I could change name and publish it as a novel? Telling me I made you cry? You guys made my dya! Virtual coookies for all. And again, I did not do any reserch for the PT so give me a break. Mark is Chircon, just with a mundane name. a means means horse.x**

**R & R**


	9. Chapter 9

_She wondered what they news had about them that night. Annabeth had no doubt that there would be a piece run on them, the two innocent teenagers injured in a lockdown turned kidnapping. Ad as scary as it had been, Annabeth knew she would be willing to brave the reporters in order to have one of these days again._

* * *

A few days later, Annabeth and Percy were fooling around like usual, with Annabeth limping around in her crutches and Percy chasing her. Currently, they exploring the places in the hospital that they hadn't been to yet. They were passing by a sitting room area outside the operations rooms when Percy heard the blaring of a TV station, and more importantly, a news station.

"Annabeth, do you hear that?" He said.

She turned around and saw him stopped. "Hear what, seaweed brain?" She said, utilizing the nickname she hade come up for him after another day of just chatting about nothing and everything.

"A news station on the TV. Want to see what we have been missing during our imprisonment?" He said, a grin spreading across his face.

"I don't know Percy, you know that we aren't supposed to be watching TV, and we could get in big trouble with our parents." She said, hesitating.

"Oh come on, what's the worst that we will see? Yet another tax cut by the government?"

"I don't know" Annabeth said, still hesitating. "But, I guess it would be good to see what's been going on in the world."

"Great" Percy said, wheeling into the room. He saw that for a rare moment, there weren't many people in the room, just one or two people who didn't look tired or very stressed. There was a small table with refreshments to one side. And two the other, there was a small TV broadcasting the news. He wheeled himself up next to a chair that had a perfect view of TV.

Annabeth came up behind him and sat down in the chair, laying her crutches beside her. The got comfy and then turned towards the TV, and listened to whatever story was. To their shock, the announcer was saying, "Now, more converge on the two teens that were injured in a school lockdown in downtown Manhattan about two weeks ago. Our on site reporter, Kayla Smith is at the hospital with more information." The scene cut to a background that Percy knew all to well. It was the hospital they were watching the channel in.

'Thank you Amanda. Well here I am at Lenox Hill Hospital, where the two teenagers are currently being treated for their injuries. They were held hostage shortly after a real lockdown was initiated after a drill one ended. They were held hostage for approximately three to four hours, before negotiations were able to get the pair out. Then, police stormed the building and arrested four men, all of which are affiliated with a worldwide mafia and drug cartel. The reasons for the situation are currently unknown.

Until a few days ago, we had no word on the status of the two teenagers and how they were doing. It was leaked to the press yesterday that the two teenagers were named Annabeth Chase, and Perseus Jackson. Three days ago tough, we were able to catch a glimpse of the teenagers as they went on an outing." A picture of the two appeared on the TV. Both of their heads were bend down, out of sight, and you could only see their hands if you were really looking for it.

"The two seemed well, but both were in wheelchairs. We have had no new information since. Though we have been told that there may be a press conference at a later date. Back to you Amanda." Then, the TV turned to commercials. Before Annabeth could say a word, Percy wheeled himself out of the room, fuming.

How could they? What right did they have to invade their privacy and tell people their names? What right did they have to practically stalk them? They weren't some play toy, they were people. And then the press conference, why didn't they know about that? Were their parents just going to come up one morning and go, "OK guys, lets go spill our guts to the press."

He found the nearest empty sitting area and wheeled himself to the window. He sat fuming for a while, before he heard the distinctive mark of crutches walking down the hall. Then, Annabeth was sitting next to him rubbing his shoulder.

"It's not alright for them to do that. I get that. Believe me, I understand why you are mad. But there is nothing we can do to stop them. We just have to make sure to keep to ourselves." She sounded like she was pushing down her own anger, which made Percy feel slightly better.

"But what about this press conference? Why didn't we know?" He asked, slightly calmer.

"That, I don't know. I am just as mad as you. But, what can we do about that?" Annabeth said, the anger in her voice becoming clearer.

They sat like that and thought for a few minutes before Annabeth said, "Why don't we just ask our parents? They have been truthful about everything but this. Maybe they had a good reason for hiding this from us." The more she said, the better the idea seemed.

"OK. But how are your feet? Do you think you can walk back there?" They had learned over the past day or two that after a while, Annabeth would get to tired to walk, and they would have to sit still for a while. The solution they had come up with was for Annabeth to sit on Percy's lap and he would push them around. It was slightly awkward the first time, but worked fine now.

"I don't think so." She said, bending down to rub her feet. She groaned and then said, "Yep, no walking for me for a while. Can I hitch a ride?"

"Of course milady." He said, maneuvering his wheelchair so she could slide into his lap. She slid onto him, grabbed her crutches, and out them in her lap.

"Off we go!" She said, pointing her finger in the direction of the elevator. Percy pushed them down the hall, until they came to the elevator. Annabeth pushed the up button, and they waited for the elevator. When it opened for them, there were a couple other people in there, namely a fancy looking man in an expensive looking business suit. Suit man gave them a weird look when he saw how they were sitting.

Percy pushed them into the elevator and Annabeth said, "Fourth floor please." As the elevator started its assent, Percy would swear that he had never heard more awkward elevator music, and that was saying something. Finally, after what seemed like a century, the elevator arrived at the fourth floor.

As they wheeled out, Percy couldn't resist saying, "Adios, Amigos," Right as the elevator closed.

As soon the elevator left, Annabeth collapsed in a fit of giggles. "Why did you say that? Did you see the look on that mans face?" She said in between laughs.

Percy, holding in his own laughs said, "I just thought that we really got to know each other in that elevator, ya know? I felt like we connected." Annabeth just nodded, as she slowly calmed down.

Percy wheeled them down the hall until they reached Annabeth's room, where they knew that both families were having lunch that day. The closer they got to the elevator, the quieter Annabeth's giggles got, until they quieted down completely. Percy's face slowly became more serious, until they were right outside the door, ready to ask their parents a very important question.

"Ready?" He asked, sounding eerily similar to what he had said outside the door of their first PT session. Annabeth nodded, and pushed open the door as Percy wheeled them in.

Sitting in a circle of chairs they had collected from both rooms, Fred, Helen, Pons, and Sally were seated, eating sandwiches and talking and laughing. Fed looked up at the duo when they walked in. "Oh, here you two are. Want a sandwich?" He asked, but his smile dropped a little when he saw how serious the two looked. "Are you guys ok?"

Annabeth slipped out of Percy's lap and onto the bed, and Percy wheeled up beside her. "We need to talk." She said.

* * *

**Ok Guys I know that it is a little shorter than usual, But I have a good reason. In about a week or so, I am going up north from NC to MI, and visiting family for like, a week. I wont be able to update since they don't have good WiFi, and I only see these people once or twice a year. So, I will give you another update sunday or monday to make up for it, before resuming updates when I get back. School for me also starts on the 26th, so updates will be slower then. **

**Also, before people say that Percy and Annabeth to some extent overreacted, please remember that they are trying to recover from a traumatizing event. I think you would be mad if people mad if people started talking about it like it was the latest movie by Brad Pitt.**

**And also, I am looking for a beta! If you would like to beta this, Please PM me.**

**Adios!**


	10. Chapter 10

_Sitting in a circle of chairs they had collected from both rooms, Fred, Helen, Pons, and Sally were seated, eating sandwiches and talking and laughing. Fed looked up at the duo when they walked in. "Oh, here you two are. Want a sandwich?" He asked, but his smile dropped a little when he saw how serious the two looked. "Are you guys ok?"_

_Annabeth slipped out of Percy's lap and onto the bed, and Percy wheeled up beside her. "We need to talk." She said._

* * *

"What's the matter guys?" Sally asked, standing up from her chair and walking over. "Did something happen?"

"No, that's not it." Percy said, a frown on his face.

"Then what is it?" Helen said, cutting in.

"Well, you see, we were just wandering around the hospital, when we came across a TV. Do you want to know what was playing on that TV?" Annabeth said, looking each of the parents in the eyes.

"What did you guys see?" Pons said, cutting in to the conversation.

"Well, lucky for us, the news was on. We were able to get caught up with what's been going on in the world. Especially the top story right now, which happens to be us. We also learned some very curious information." Annabeth said.

Picking up her train of thought, Percy continued, "We found out that, not only does the press know our names, but they also have a press conference in a few days, in which we are supposed to appear."

Annabeth continued with pausing, "What were you guys going to do. Show up in a few days, get us dressed and say, 'hey guys, today you are going to spill your guts to the press. Aren't you excited?'"

The pair watched the four adults squirm for a few moments before Fred spoke up and said, "That's not what we were going to do. We were going to tell you, we just didn't want to stress you guys out, it could hinder your recovery."

"OH that's your reasoning? 'It could hinder your recovery'. What else have you guys been hiding from us?" Annabeth said

"Nothing! We promise, this is the only thing. " Helen said. Her face was pale and her eyes shone with regret. Sally looked the same At the sight, both Annabeth and Percy slightly calmed down. Neither of them had meant to make their parents cry, they just got a little heated when they found out that their parents had been keeping things from them.

"It better be. Now, what are we going to do about this press conference? Can we cancel it?" Percy said, slightly calmer.

"We can't. We had to do this in order to get the press of your backs. Otherwise, they would probably be all over the hospital." Pons said.

"Still, you could have told us when you decided to do it." Percy said, but there was no real malice in his words.

"Ok, we will tell you next time." Fred promised.

* * *

A couple days later, Percy and Annabeth were heading to breakfast. Annabeth had decided earlier that morning it was too early to walk, and had unceremoniously plopped herself on his lap when he went to get her for breakfast.

As they wheeled into the cafeteria, they got multiple strange looks, but they ignored them. When they went to get their morning meal of rubbery eggs and over-cooked bacon, the lunch ladies were extra nice to them, giving them hot food for once. Annabeth inferred that they must have seen the news lately, which accounted for the special treatment.

The two had noticed lately that people had been extra nice too them. One example was when they been headed down a hallway. The big double doors had just closed on them when a nurse came out of nowhere saying, "Oh, you poor darlings, let me open for you."

They had tried to protest that they could have opened the doors by them selves, with the wheelchair button, but the nurse had protested saying, "That they had gone through a dreadful experience that they shouldn't need to lift a finger."

That instance had been one of many, but the pair had gotten used to special treatment.

When they got back to their floor, their parents, all of whom looked worried and harried, stopped them.

"Oh, there you are! We have been looking for you. The press conference is in an hour, and you two need to get ready." Helen said, walking up to them. Then, without warning, Annabeth was being taken off of Percy's lap, and set on her crutches, and Percy's wheelchair was being grabbed by Sally and both were lead away to get ready for the conference.

* * *

Percy and Annabeth were seated at a table that was up on a platform. On either side of them were their respective parents. Below the platform was a hoard of reporters. Almost all of them had camera men with them, so there was no doubt that they would be on the front page of every newspaper and the top story on every news channel the next morning.

Before the conference had started, Percy and Annabeth had been told that they would get to pick who they spoke to, but if they wanted to, they could have their parents answer some questions.

As they sat together, Annabeth and Percy picked out the reporters together.

"What about him?" Annabeth asked, pointing to a professional looking man. "He looks professional."

"Nah, he is to boring." Percy said with a shrug.

"No, we should do him. He wouldn't ask anything to radical I imagine." Annabeth said forcefully.

"Fine. I get to choose next though." Percy said, giving in to Annabeth.

"Deal." Annabeth said before pointing to the man and nodding, giving him the indication that it was all right to speak.

"Hello, Dan Worthington from New York Times. Did you know each other previously to when you were held hostage?"

"Um, no we meet during the lockdown drill." Percy said, feeling awkward.

Together, the pair picked the next reporter, a black-haired woman with glasses.

"Hello, I am Elissa Martinez from the Chicago Tribune. How did you guys meet anyway?"

"Well, we were in the same room when the lockdown drill was called, and then, we were able to stay together once the real one was called." Annabeth said, sounding slightly more professional than Percy.

The next reporter up was 'Donna Smith, Miami Herald' who asked, "How has recovery been for you two?"

Percy when first and said, "Recovery has been difficult, I mean we were kidnapped by a crazy man. Its not like we will be outside playing basketball and taking PE tests tomorrow." A ripple went through the crowd at Percy's answer.

"What he means is that we didn't come out of that unscathed, recovery will take awhile." Annabeth said, both annoyance and laughter from Percy's answer showing on her face.

They choose the next reporter who said, "Mark Cankis, Charlotte Observer. Can you tell us your exact medical condition at this moment?"

At this, Fred cut in and said, "We have decided not to release the details of the kids conditions." The reporter nodded but looked disappointed.

As the conference wore on, both Percy and Annabeth got tired of answering questions that were almost exactly alike, until one question that made both of their heads spin.

"Hi. I am Risa Steiner from MTV" AT those words Percy's heart dropped, and Annabeth's head snapped up. The reporter had rigid blonde curls, both a slightly masculine face. She was carrying a bag that looked to be made of faux alligator sin, and the pencil she was holding was acid green. "Is it true that you two are in a relationship?"

Instantly, it was like Annabeth and Percy were half tomato. "NO! I-I mean no, we are not in a relationship. Why would you think that?" Annabeth said, losing her composure for a second.

"But I have information that you two spend most of your time together in the hospital, and that you even go to Physical Therapy together. Are you sure that there isn't something going on?" Risa countered, being insistent.

"Yes I am sure!" Annabeth said, becoming more agitated and embarrassed by the second.

"I think that is enough questions." Helen cut in. "We will have to end the conference. Sorry to those who didn't get to ask their questions." After finishing this, she stood up, and gestured for the others to do the same. They stood up, and together exited the room.

Once they exited the conference Percy and Annabeth turned to each other. Annabeth still had an agitated look on her face, and Percy still looked highly embarrassed.

"What have we done to get ourselves thought of as a couple?" Annabeth asked, talking mostly to herself. "Why would I want to be thought of as the girlfriend of seaweed brain? Are they crazy?"

"Hey, I am offended by your statement." Percy said, hearing what Annabeth had said. "Although I don't get it either."

* * *

**Ok, so I had writers block this chapter, that's why it wasn't up early like I promised. **

**On another note, I would like to thank ShimmeringDaisyFace. SHe is my new beta, and is really helpful :) Also, have any of the writers on here ever used the grammar check? Some of the things it says is ridiculous. It says that Ladies is biased... What?**

**R & R**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer for chapters 11-20: I am not a forty year old guy who is rich as has kids. Trust me, I don't own PJO. If i did MoA wouldn't have ended with a literal cliffhanger.**

* * *

_"What have we done to get ourselves thought of as a couple?" Annabeth asked, talking mostly to herself. "Why would I want to be thought of as the girlfriend of seaweed brain? Are they crazy?"_

_"Hey, I am offended by your statement." Percy said, hearing what Annabeth had said. "Although I don't get it either."_

_Two Weeks Later_

* * *

Annabeth sat in the now empty hospital room. It had been her home for over a month now, and as excited as it was to be going home, she couldn't help but feel a small pang of sadness. Deep in her heart she knew that the reason for this feeling was that she was now going to be separated from Percy. Their respective apartments were only five blocks away, but that was so much more than two minutes-

She stopped that train of thought. 'You are not some girl who needs a boy to hang onto. You are just attached to him because you both went through a traumatic experience together. Anyway, you will see him in a couple days for Christmas, then at school every day.' Annabeth whispered to herself, frustrated.

Taking one last glance at the now bland room, Annabeth walked out of the room and into the floor lounge, were everyone was waiting. Her parents were chatting with Sally and Pons, and Percy was sitting there, playing with her 6 year old brothers, Matthew and Bobby. When he looked for a second, he spotted Annabeth and the smile on his face grew impossibly bigger before he gestured for her to come over to them.

When she got to the trio, her legs were suddenly attacked by Matthew and Bobby, who both hugged her tightly. If she hadn't been leaning on her crutches, she probably would have fallen down. As it was, She just swayed slightly before chuckling. She sat down in the seat next to Percy before asking, "What are you guys talking about?"

"Nothing, just telling them about some of my adventures over the years." Percy replied.

"Annabeth, did you know that Percy once blew up a bus?" Matthew cut in excitedly.

"Yea, and he once dumped his class into a shark pool!" Bobby added, eyes popping out from amazement.

"Really? I wonder how he did that?" Annabeth said, turning to Percy with a questioning look on her face.

"Well you see, we were at the aquarium, and on this catwalk and-"

Percy was interrupted by Sally coming up to the four and saying, "Well, I hate to say it, but it's time for us to be going. We have things we need to do, and unfortunately, not a lot of time to do them. But we will see you at the party in a few days, ok?" Sally bent down and gave a small kiss to Annabeth's forehead before telling her, "Stay safe, ok?"

"I will, don't worry." She said, trying to stop the unwanted tears from coming to the surface, She turn to Percy but before she could say anything, she was being engulfed in a warm hug.

"Don't forget to text, ok?" He said. If Annabeth really listened, she thought that his voice sounded slightly more rough that usual, as if he too was holding back tears.

Annabeth nodded, before she pulled away and smiled at him. Then, Sally was wheeling Percy away, but not before similar scenes happened with her mom and dad, who both hugged Percy tightly. Then, he was wheeled out into the elevator, and away from Annabeth.

* * *

_Percy was lifted in the air, his struggles lowly ceasing as Bruce chocked the life out of him. Then, He let go and Percy fell to the ground limply. Bruce pushed him over to Annabeth, who suddenly had her hands untied._

_"Percy?" She said, forgetting about the fake names. "Percy, can you here me?" She said, starting to panic. She found his neck and searched for a pulse. She found none. She held her hand over his mouth, hoping to feel him breathing, but she couldn't._

_"Percy?" She said, tears starting to fall. He didn't respond, and she grew more panicked. She started to shake him frantically, desperate to get any kind of response from him._

_"Percy?"_

_"Percy?!"_

_"PERCY!"_

Annabeth shot up in bed, tears falling down her cheeks, a sob barely stopped from escaping her mouth.

'Its just a dream.' She told herself. 'Percy is fine.' Even so, she knew she wouldn't calm down until she got proof that he was all right. She searched her nightstand blindly before she found her phone. Then, she clicked the number three speed dial and waited.

After a few tense moments of ringing, a male voice answered the phone saying, "Hello, Annabeth? Why are you calling, it's two in the morning."

Relief shot through the grey-eyed girl as she said, "I just needed to make sure you were okay." She hated how needy and weak it made her sound, but it was true.

"Nightmare?" Percy asked, sounding more awake now that it had clicked to him why she had called him. After a couple nights, both were used to the other calling them at all times of the night after a bad dream. They both both knew that the other would need to make sure that they were all right, before they would be able to succumb to sleep again. In fact, Percy had already called Annabeth at eleven last night.

"Yeah." Annabeth muttered, reluctant to admit what the nightmare had been about.

"Oh. Well I'm alright. In fact, you are going to see me later today for the Christmas Eve party our parents are having. Then, in two days, we are going to see the state governor for that whole 'sorry for your ordeal, what can we do to make you happy' thing. So don't worry, we will be seeing plenty of each other over the next couple days. Goodnight Anna. Sleep well."

"Don't call me Anna. Goodnight Percy. Thanks." She said, a small smile gracing her face before she hung the phone, and settled back down to sleep. For the rest of the night, both teenagers slept peacefully, content in the knowledge that they would be reunited later that day

* * *

The next day, Annabeth couldn't have been more excited to go to Percy's house for Christmas Eve. Even though it had only been four days since she saw him, it felt like ten times more. Coupled with the nightmares they both had been having, She was practically bouncing in place as they pulled up in front of Percy's apartment building shortly after five.

Helen saw how restless her step-daughter was, and couldn't resist chuckling. "Calm down Annabeth, It's only been four days. You can hold on for five more minutes."

Annabeth turned to her and said, "I know, I am just excited to see them all, and to exchange presents. To bad Bobby and Matthew couldn't be here though." The twins had decided that they would rather go to a friends house, so it would only be the six of them tonight.

"Yes, I am sure that Sally would have doted on them. Anyway come on, we're here, and in order to actually see Percy, you need to get out of the car. Give me a second, and I'll come around to you and help."

Annabeth shook her head and said, "No, I can get out by myself." To prove her point, Annabeth opened the door, and with some degree of difficulty, was able to get her self out of the car. Helen shook her head at the sight, before helping Fredrick to get the presents for the other family out of the trunk. Once they had everything, The trio walked into the building, and across the lobby to the elevator. Once there, they pushed the twelfth floor button.

Once they got off the elevator, they made their way down to room 1203. To their surprise, the door was different from all the rest. Instead of a plain, boring, dark brown, it was a sea blue with christmas decorations covering the whole of it. They only knocked on the door once, before it was swung open, and Annabeth was engulf ed in a warm hug that smelled of cookies and cany. Annabeth recognized it as signature scent that alway followed Sally around. She leaned in the hug as a way of reciprocating for a few seconds before she pulled away.

Sally clasped her cheeks before saying, "Annabeth! You so pretty! Come in, we're having dinner in about fifteen minutes. Percy is in the family room." Annabeth nodded before stepping into the apartment that Percy called home.

The first thing she noticed was how blue it was. It wasn't tacky though. It somehow just flowed together and made the place feel very calming. The apartment had a very open feel. Of to the side, she could see a small kitchen, and a dining table. In the other part of the apartment was a living room. On the TV was charlie Brown, and sitting in front of it was one Percy Jackson. He was so engrossed in the show that he didn't notice that Annabeth was there until she grabbed the remote and and muted the TV.

"Hey, who muted Char-" Percy said, turning around, but stopping his rant once he saw who it was that muted Charlie Brown. Once it hit him that Annabeth was there, his eyes went wide and his mouth dropped.

"Speechless, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth said, smirking a little bit. She couldn't help herself, it made a pretty funny picture.

"No, I just didn't hear you." He said, then he wheeled himself forward and gave her a hug around the waist. "Could you please bend down and hug me too, so I don't feel like a really short dweeb." His muffled voice said. Annabeth gave another chuckle and complied with his wishes. Once, they were both ensconced in each others arms, Annabeth had to resist the urdge to, god forbit, _melt_ into Percys arm. 'You don't love him, you are just friends.' she reminded herself.

* * *

Later than evening, the two families sat next to the Jackson family tree, a boy what a tree it was. It was covered from trunk to tip in tinsel, popcorn chains, lights, and oraments. In Annabeth's opinion, the best was the one of Percy when he was five. His cheeks were chubby, and he had a tooth missing, giving him a gap-toothed smile.

Anyway, they all sat around a big circle of presents, that were about to be given away.

"Ok, first present goes to Annabeth. Merry Christmas Darling." Sally said, handing her a decently sized presnt. I was too big to be a book, so Annabeth was totally in the dark about what it was. "This is from Pons and I. Percy got you his own present."

Annabeth smiled and grasped the presnt. She was surprised when it was moderately heavy. Once she had carefully unwrapped the present, she couldn't resist a gasp at what she had been given.

"An architecture model kit of the Parthenon? This is great!" Annabeth said, amazed at her gift. Percy had heard her ramble on about architecture before, more specifically, Ancient Greek architecture. He must have told his parents. "Thanks, this is great." She said again.

"Ok, now, her is our gift to you, Percy. Annabeth did the same as you, and got a separate gift." Fredrick said, handing over the gift to Percy, who leaned out of his chair to get it. Unlike Annabeths, Percy's gift was small and slim.

Percy unwrapped the gift, and once he saw what it was, a smile broke out on his face. "The newest White Stripes CD? That only came out yesterday! Its sold out everywhere. This is awesome, thanks guys!"

They both watched as the adults then exchanged their own gifts. Sally got a new mixer, and Pons got a new fishing rod. Helen got a 100$ gift card to Tiffany's, and Fredrick got a book on WWII planes and other aircraft.

Later, after the adults had retreated to the kitchen to talk, Annabeth and Percy went out onto the small porch to exchange their personal gifts.

Percy went first "So, um, I ah, saw how much you liked my necklace so, here you go" He said sheepishly, handing her a small box. Gingerly, She took it, and unwrapped it. It was a small velvet box with a small pegasus print on the front. She opened it, and inside laid a necklace identical to the one Percy was currently wearing. Lying next to it were three beads. One was a gray one with faint swirl of blue. Another was a charm with the empire state building. The final was a small owl with golden eyes.

"Percy, you shouldn't have! This is gorgeous, it myst have been so expensive." Annabeth said, her hand flying to her mouth cover how it was gaping open. "Thank you!" She said, giving him a huge hug. Then, she reached behind her and pulled out her present.

"Well, I guess we must have been thinking along the same lines. Merry Christmas" She said as she handed him his present. It was much smaller than the box she had received. Percy took it and opened the box after unwrapping it. Inside, lay half of a pendant. It was a gold, with the words "friends forever" inscribed on it. On the back, it simply had "Annabeth".

"I have the other half and I was going to put it on my key chain, but I guess I will put it on my new necklace. I had them made." She said, a little shyly.

"Its great. I like it, a lot. I will put it on my necklace when I get a chance. Thanks Anna." Percy said, a light smile on his face.

"Don't call me Anna, but you're welcome." She said.

For the rest of the night, the two teenagers sat together in silence, out on the porch. They looked at the stars, and simply sat with eachother. And when the time came for Annabeth to leave, she found that it was easier to leave with the necklace, like a piece of Percy with hed. She bade him farewell, telling him she would see him in two days. And both fell asleep that night, and for that one night, were free of the nightmares that tortured them.

* * *

**Yes, I know its late. I never got a reply for my Beta, thats what I was waiting for, so this chapter is UNBETAED, so it might have a few mistakes. Anyway, Is anybody else, psyched that this chapter is over 2,00o words? I was so happy that I went downstairs doing a happy dance in front of my parents.**

**I regret tell you guys that updates will so down to once a week from now on. The reason is that I start school on Monday, and won't have as much free time. So please go to the poll on my page, to vote on what day I should update. Friday or Saturday are not possible because I have swim team those days. If I don't get enough votes, I'm pulling it out of a hat.**

**Another thing. My Grandmother is dying, and the doctors are saying its going to be this week. If you don't get any updates thats why. **

**Ciao,**

**CR**


	12. Authors Note

**Hey Guys,**

**My Grandmother died this afternoon. Right now, we are making arrangements to go up for the memorial. I live in NC, she lived in MN. I will be going up on Friday, and coming down next weekend. I might try to write a chapter tonight or tomorrow, but don't count on it. I hope the wait doesn't kill you guys, but I need the time. Thanks for the support, you guys are the best.**

**Love you all, C.R.**


	13. Chapter 13

_For the rest of the night, the two teenagers sat together in silence, out on the porch. They looked at the stars, and simply sat with each other. And when the time came for Annabeth to leave, she found that it was easier to leave with the necklace, like a piece of Percy with hed. She bade him farewell, telling him she would see him in two days. And both fell asleep that night, and for that one night, were free of the nightmares that tortured them._

* * *

The next day, Percy and Annabeth were standing outside were standing outside a grand building. It had the grandeur of a castle, but smaller. The greens extended for miles around.

'And here we are, sitting outside the entrance, ready to be sweetened and fattened all for publicity.' Percy thought with vague disgust. He may not have the IQ of Annabeth's but even he could see that 'good will' was not this politician's main reason for the meeting.

"Well, here we are. Are we going to go in, or are we going to sit around all day and gaze at the grounds?" Annabeth said after a minute of them both just staring at the place, not quite ready to go inside.

"Mmh" Percy grunted, shifting in his stiff suit. "Got to get it over sometime, don't we?" Percy replied.

"Yep."

"Ok then. Lets go in."

"Ok." The decision made, they silently look at each other having some sort of staring contest.

"You go first." Percy said, not wanting to be the center of attention. He still wasn't used to the looks he got when his mom and him went out for mundane things like milk and cookies for a last-minute movie night. He had even refused to go out one night because he was so frustrated with the looks he getting.

"Fine. Don't be a baby." Annabeth said teasingly as she went up to the doors and reached out an arm to awkwardly open it. Before she could though, the door opened, seemingly by itself. Out stepped a woman, dressed in a formal skirt suit, with a clipboard in her hands.

"Annabeth Chase and Perseus Jackson?" She asked in a short clipped tone.

Percy wheeled up to them as Annabeth nodded and said, "That's us."

She looked around briefly. "Where are your parents?" She asked.

Annabeth took charge and said, "Since we are seventeen our parents decided we were mature enough to do this by ourselves. They will be waiting for us when we are done with the meeting."

The woman nodded. "Right this way. Please keep up." And started walking down a hallway that was right inside the doors. Annabeth and Percy looked at each other and hurried after the woman, both struggling slightly to keep up with her quick long strides. Annabeth was eternally gratefully that she was able to get walking boots yesterday and now only had to rely slightly on the crutches.

After a couple of minutes of sharp turns and grand rooms, they entered a room that looked much more modern than the rest of the building. It was painted a formal, drab grey, and had many desk and computers. Ahead of them was a hallway with a few doors.

"Right, here we are." She said before leading them down the hallway to the first door on the left. She knocked on the door and exchanged a few words with whoever was inside. Then, she usher ed them in, and as she closed the door, Percy could swear he heard a 'good luck' come from her lips.

He turned his attention to the man standing in front of him. He had bright blond hair, the kind that almost looked like the sun itself. He had a blinding smile and was obviously fit behind the suit he was wearing. He walked up to them and shook both of their hands before saying, "Hello. I am Elio, Elio Forbes."

"Hi, I'm Percy Jackson and this is Annabeth Chase. It's nice to meet you sir." Percy said politely. He didn't want to anger this man, who held so much power.

"Oh, its nice to meet you two! Do you know how much press you have gotten over the past month?" He said, with a smile on his face. Percy couldn't tell if it was fake or not.

"We are flattered Sir." Annabeth said, before sitting down in a chair.

"Now, let's get down to business. I have an offer for you two." Elio said, getting serious before sitting down at his desk. "I am willing to pay for all of both your medical bills, and for any future physical therapy you may have."

Percy struggled to keep his mouth from dropping to the floor. He had overheard his mom and dad talking. Those bills were upwards of 7,000$. Annabeth's bills were probably closer to 5,000$ or 6,000$. He was willing to pay 12,000 dollars. But for what? Percy began to get suspicious.

Annabeth must have had the same feeling because after a moment thought she said, "And what do we have to give you in return?"

Elio gave a sigh and said, "Why must you think I am manipulating you. All I ask in return is that you let me talk about my good deed. I don't want to have to hide it from the world.

Annabeth looked at him for a second before she said, "Is there a private place Percy and I can talk?"

"Right behind you, It's a small sitting room made for times like this. Also, you should know that I will only have these funds available for a few hours." Elio said with a wry grin and pointed behind them. Annabeth nodded and stood up before gesturing for Percy to follow her. They went into the room and Annabeth closed the door before sinking into one of the chairs.

After a second she turned to Percy. 'I don't know if we should take it or not." She had a small frown on her face.

"Why not?" Percy asked. "I was wary too at first, but that isn't such a bad deal."

"That's what he wants you to think." Annabeth said. 'He will use this to garner votes and get himself re-elected."

"Oh."

"Yea, so we need to decide whether or not to take the money." Annabeth rubbed her temples in mild irritation.

"What choice do we have? I mean, my family can't afford to pay for those bills. My parents were just talking about moving into a small apartment so that we could pay them. I say we take it. So what, we will be on the news more. he would have found a way even if we didn't agree to this." Percy finished his speech and felt proud of himself. He had just made himself seem smarter than Annabeth Chase.

Annabeth thought for a few seconds before muttering, "I guess you are right. Lets go make money Percy." She finished with a grin before standing up.

The pair made their way back into the main office. Elio looked up from what he was doing and said, "Have you come to a decision?"

"We have." Annabeth averred. "We will let you pay."

"Good. Now, I hope you two have a good day. Cassandra will show you out." He said before going back to his work. The teenagers looked at each other before the awkwardly made their way out of the Senators office.

* * *

Later in the day, Annabeth, Percy, Sally, and Fred sat in a cafe in downtown Albany eating a late lunch and discussing what had gone on in the meeting.

"You guys should have told us!" Fred said, looking part angry at the fact they had made the decision without consulting them, and part relieved at the fact they wouldn't have to pay all of the bills.

"We know, but we didn't have time, time was slipping away beneath us. If you had been there, you would have done the same thing!" Annabeth said, not liking that their parents didn't trust them to make mature decisions.

"We aren't going to punish you guys, we just want you to know that you decision was very rash, and that doesn't make us happy. You don't have the right to tell someone whether or not, we, your parents, will take their money. It's not your responsibility." Sally said, staying calmer than Fred, but there was still a touch of weariness in her voice as she spook.

Percy was getting madder as the conversation went on. What the parents were saying just wasn't making sense. They were mad they had accepted the money, but they would have done it to had they been there. They think Annabeth and he had been rash, but they were not punishing them.

Finally, his tempter erupted. "What do you guys think we are, 5? We made a decision that we know you would have made. We were pressured, but we did the right thing. Stop ratting us out! We are seventeen year olds who were kidnapped by a crazy person, and given injuries that will affect us for the rest of our lives. But we are not helpless. So just stop, I'M SICK OF IT!" Percy yelled at them, his face getting redder and redder and his voice getting louder and louder until he screamed the last part of his rant. Everyone in the cafe turned to stare at them, but he ignored both the stares and his mom, Fred, and Annabeth asking him to come back as he wheeled himself out of the cafe.

As he looked around, he saw a small sign advertising a park down the street. Percy wheeled himself down the street to the sign, before entering the park. He was pleasantly surprised to see the shore of the Hudson River, and benches sitting right on the bank of the river. The angry frown on his face grew smaller as he wheeled himself up next to one of the benches, and sat , looking out at the river. Even more to his liking, it was just him here, looking out at the glory of the Hudson river in winter.

The past few weeks had been hard on Percy. Ever since he woke up without the use of his legs, his world has changed. He didn't know when or if he would ever walk again. He would never be able to swim, or play basketball, one of his favorite activities to do in his spare time. He would have some difficulty getting dressed for the rest of his life. He would have to go see a doctor once a month to keep his legs healthy. For a brief night, Percy had let all sorts of traitorous thoughts like that run through his head, and spill out of his eyes and mouth. he would be forever grateful that his mom knew him well enough to not approach him that night. The next day, he had resolved to never let his new disability get in the way of things. It was a promise that had held this long, and with the looming challenge of school approaching, one he was determined not to lose.

That his parents were treating him like he was helpless was getting ever more frustrating. Yesterday morning his mom had tried to go into the bathroom while he was in the shower to, 'see if he needed help.' Percy had replied by throwing a bottle of body wash from the stool where he sat, before she went out. Today, he made sure to lock the door.

As he sat, watching the sun sparkle off the thick ice, and simply sitting, enjoying the scenery. After about a half hour, he headed back to the cafe, no longer mad at anyone. As he walked in, he saw Annabeth, her dad, and his mom sitting, and chatting quietly, the anger having left them too.

As he drew near the table, his mom stood up and walked quickly to him, before bending over and encompassing him between her arms. "I am so sorry Percy. I will never treat you like I have again." She said, sniffling slightly. He smiled into her hair and patted her back before wheeling himself back up to the table where he had exploded not 45 minutes before.

"Sorry about that guys. Just needed to blow off some steam." He said, feeling slightly embarrassed now.

"It's okay really." Frederick said. The four chatted at the table for another hour before deciding to head home. As Annabeth and Percy hugged goodbye, Annabeth whisper in his ear, "See you in school tomorrow."

* * *

**First off, so sorry about the wait. I came back from the memorial to face the hell that is 8th grade. The homework is endless,and so is the make-up work. I have been flooded with work and only in the last couple days have I got a handle on it. I hope this is sufficient. It is personally my 2nd favorite chapter after the last one.**

**Okay, for those who don't know about the American government shutdown, let me enlighten you. Every spending year, Oct 1-Sept. 30, the two parts of congress (sorta like parliament) have to agree on a spending budget for the next year. Currently, there is a controversial healthcare law in place. Before we get any farther, let me tell you, that one political party is majority in one branch, while another has majority in the other branch. Now, one of these branches didn't want to pay for this law, and took it out of the spending bill, but the other branch didn't like that, and sent the bill back to the other branch with the money for the bill on there. This went back and forth all of yesterday, until Midnight. Then, the government had no more money to spend, and so went into a shutdown, They closed all "non-essential" federal services until a spending bill can be passed. Of course my first thought is, "OMG WILL MY HoH COPY STILL COME IN THE MAIl?!" **

**And then I realized it would, and my heart stopped racing and I could breathe again. Nerdy much? :P**

**Also, Elio Forbes s Apollo. Elio is a Spanish name for sun, while Forbes magazine has a quote of the day. Seemed fitting.**


End file.
